Tears From Better Days
by set-to-fall
Summary: There's not much to say. Give it a read and see what you think. We'll just say that Danielle is an original character. Heero's daughter. And it would be safe to make Joey someone else's kid. We'll say Duo's.


What was to become of the worthless young woman that he left there, lying on her bed, legs pulled tightly to her chest? Her torn dress, stained with the blood and tears of her innocence, was lying forgotten upon the floor. Cotton sheets were tangled around her fragile and broken body.  
  
Memories of the night before came flooding back to her. She could still hear her screams echoing through her mind and feel her body struggling against his. Her flesh still burned where he had touched her, but no scrape or bruise ached as much as her heart.  
  
Warm tears, tracing the path of those already fallen, spilled helplessly down her cheeks. Her matted and tangled hair stuck to her face where sweat had been just hours before. She shivered, clutching the mattress tightly to steady her trembling shoulders.  
  
How long had she been lying there, afraid to move; would he come back again? She was filthy, stained with his scent. He had overpowered her; taken advantage of her weaknesses.  
  
The door screamed in protest as it was gently eased open. It was as if it were trying to keep the world away; trying to protect her. She covered her face with the sheet and winced as the pain rushed through her. Light poured in from the hallway outside and her muscles tensed as she felt someone's gaze fall upon her battered body. She cringed at her momentary weakness; thinking of herself, wrapped in nothing more than a sheet. Her body trembled and she whimpered vulnerably.  
  
He walked towards her bed. She could hear him gasp at the sight of the bruises and scratches that marred her perfect skin. "What happened? Who did this?" Her eyes widened as he neared her. He rushed towards her bed, hand outstretched to touch her petite figure, she screamed, "Stay away from me, Joey! Don't look at me!"  
  
Quickly she sat up and cowered on the corner of her bed. She covered her body with the sheet that she still clutched tightly in her fist. There was so much fear in her eyes; so much pain.  
  
Hurt, he withdrew from his advance. How should he react to this? He wanted to rush to her; hold her in his arms and whisper to her that everything would be ok, that he was here now; he wanted to be able to take away her pain. Joey stared at her in disbelief; there was no way that this could happen to her.  
  
After a long silence, allowing him time to think, he finally spoke. "Are you alright, Danielle?"  
  
She didn't answer. She sat straight backed against the wall and stared at him. Her arms still clutched the sheet tightly around her body, exposing only bruised shoulders and painted toe nails. "No," she answered him finally. Her voice was shaking as she answered, "I'm completely ruined, Joey."  
  
Joey could hear the water pouring into the bathtub and feel the steam sliding out from under the closed door. He sat there, teeth clenched, waiting for her to finish. He was expecting her best friend, Julia, to come. 'There's nothing that I can do,' his mind raged. 'She's afraid of me.'  
  
She sat in the warm water and scrubbed at her body with a sponge furiously until her skin turned a rosy shade of red. Nothing Danielle did could make her feel clean again; her body was worthless. She could not escape the memory of her attacker, though it had been hours since he had left her, bruised and alone.  
  
She screamed in defeat and threw the worthless sponge across the bathroom. Pulling her knees to her chest she cried into them like a small child. 'He's ruined me,' she thought. 'He's taken everything away.'  
  
Emerging hours later from the bathroom, Danielle lay down on her bed and pulled her knees to her chest. Joey sat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled her hands towards his. He held them gently in his own. He could feel her tiny hands tremble in his own.  
  
Danielle's wet hair was soaking the pillow on which she rested her head. She flinched slightly at the suddenness of Joey's action. "Hey, Elle," Joey started. "How are you feeling?"  
  
Trying to hold back tears she didn't know she had left to cry, Danielle shook her head no. Joey laid beside her on the bed and pulled her into a hug. This action seemed to be too much for Danielle; she started sobbing uncontrollably. Joey rocked her back and forth in her arms until Danielle fell into a deep but fitful sleep.  
  
Time passed slowly; the days returned to normal, but the nightmares remained ever haunting. She would wake at night, thrashing, turning over and over; trying to escape. Each time she would wake up before the nightmare had ended; breathing heavily, soaked in a cold sweat.  
  
The nightmare she had most frequently was of him; her attacker. She walked through the park on a cloudy day until she reached a pond and sat on the dock, dangled her feet into the cool water. Chills ran up and down her spine, but nothing compared to the panic she felt when she looked over her shoulder and saw his cold eyes staring at her.  
  
He stood up from the bench and reached towards her. She wanted to scream, "Joey! Help me! Where are you Joey?" But the words would die upon her lips and her body would freeze. She was a slave to the terror that his image brought to her.  
  
This was the dream she was having that night. She tossed around until finally managed to scream. "Joey! Help!" she yelled and rolled around, tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Please! Joey! Help me!"  
  
Her eyes shot open as two hands grabbed her shoulders. One hand gently began to smooth down her hair and wipe away her tears. She kept struggling, screaming for Joey.  
  
"Shh! It's alright, Elle," Joey whispered to her. "It's just me, Danielle."  
  
"Oh Joey!" she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed onto his shoulder.  
  
Slowly Joey placed his hand on her waist and pulled her into a sitting position. He rocked her back and forth gently. "You're alright now," he whispered. "I promise, from now on, I'm not going to let anything happen to you."  
  
A tear escaped from Danielle's honey glazed eyes and rolled down her delicate cheek. It had seemed like so long ago that she'd been this close to Joey. She could feel his strong arms around her, could smell his cologne; she closed her eyes and gave into the feelings she'd been afraid to show before.  
  
What had become of the worthless young woman that he left there? Although she would never be the same carefree beauty she had been before, she knew that, with time, she would recover. Slowly she would pick up the pieces of her shattered past and, with Joey's help, she would put them together again. The night that changed her life forever shook her faith and made her question everything she believed in was now over and she was beginning to recover. 


End file.
